Well, there are only a few more days to sign up for our workshop in London and Paris. Keith, Matt and I are excited to see registrations coming in and are looking forward to showing you these two amazing cities like you have never seen before. Our workshop is designed to combine the best of a travel workshop with a photography class. Below is the basic itinerary to give you an idea of the excursions and locations we will be visiting. Once we get a sense of who has registered, we will finalize the itinerary to best suit the interests of the participants, while keeping to the the desire of the instructors to show you these two cities in a new light. Our goal is to help you to improve your photography so that you return home with new or improved skills and the photos to show for it.
Feel free to contact me at neeley@neeleymain.com or 650-315-8812 or Keith Lee at leekeith@fhda.edu or 650-949-8812 with any questions you might have. We look forward to hearing from you.
Itinerary – 15 Days
London – Day 1 – Sunday 8/24 – Arrival and City Orientation
Arrive in London and check into the accommodations. Optionally spend a few hours with your fellow photographers riding a Hop On/Off bus for a tour of the city and an early dinner. This is a great way to combat jet lag, and get a good overview of just some of the areas we will be photographing during the next week.
London – Day 2 – Monday 8/25 – Intros, Regents Park, Early Dinner
We are arriving on a bank holiday weekend and are lucky enough to arrive the weekend of the famous Notting Hill Carnival. It’s one of the most loved street festivals in Europe. So, we are going to start the day off running by photographing the festival and parade in Notting Hill. It’s a great introduction to photographing people in the streets because this is an occasion where people want to be photographed. After a full day of photography, we’ll wind down over a relaxing dinner together, go over the rest of the itinerary, and review the day.
London – Day 3 – Tuesday 8/26 – Victoria and Albert Museum, Afternoon walk in Kensington and Hyde Park
In the morning we have a private tour of the Victoria and Albert Museum history of photography collection. The latter half of the day we spend exploring Kensington and Hyde Park. Optionally we will begin the day with a sunrise photo shoot along the Thames.
London – Day 4 – Wednesday 8/27 – Carnaby and Oxford Streets, Getty Archive, and Night Shooting in Piccadilly and Soho
Today we start with a photo walk through Carnaby and Oxford streets. following up with an afternoon visit to the Getty Archive and, time permitting, the Photographer’s Gallery. After dinner, we go back out to get some night shots in the busy Piccadilly and SOHO areas.
London – Day 5 – Thursday 8/28 – South Bank and the Tate Modern
Up early for those who didn’t do the sunrise Thames walk earlier, as we make our way to London’s fabulously delicious and photogenic Borough Market and then on to the Tate Modern. After lunch, we will tour through London’s historical South Bank, home to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the remains of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, the HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, etc. The evening will include a ride on the London Eye for amazing sunset views of the London skyline.
London – Day 6 – Friday 8/29 – A Day of Classic London
We start in the morning with the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Those who have experienced this previously, will be given some challenges of what to photograph. We will explore the area, St. James Park and make our way to Westminster Cathedral for some fantastic bird’s-eye views of London. The later afternoon and evening are free for you to explore more of London on your own. Optionally, the group can decide another excursion based on everyone’s interests.
London – Day 7 – Saturday 8/30 – Portrait Day
Today we will start at the National Portrait Gallery and learn how light and posing are important to a masterpiece. We will then spend time photographing in the crowds around Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament. Again, the late afternoon and evening are free.
London – Day 8 – Sunday 8/31 – London’s East End
London is a special place in the summer with so much to offer its citizens and guests. One of the best things to do on a Sunday is to visit the Columbia Flower Market in London’s East End. Today we have a couple of options for you. We will explore and photograph this popular market and the neighborhood that is chock-a-bloc with antique stalls, buskers and street musicians and vendors offering delicious treats from all over the world. This market will challenge your street photography and portrait skills. The afternoon includes a photowalk of London’s historical and culturally vibrant East End.
Optionally – The Aldershot Banger Races: for those who are interested, you can gather and go out to the Aldershot Race Track for a unique race experience. Banger Races are races in which drivers drive old (scrap) vehicles against one another on a race track. We will likely be the only non-locals at this event, giving us, as photographers an opportunity to photograph something quite English and quite unique. This excursion will be at your own expense.
London – Day 9 – Monday 9/1 – Architecture from Medieval to Contemporary
The City of London is really a small area in London. Despite the small area, it is probably the most diverse architecturally of any city in the world. This area contains buildings as diverse as St. Paul’s Cathedral (1675-1708), Leadenhall Market (from the 14th to the 18th C), the Gherkin (2001) and Temple Church (1185). It is the area that received the most damage from the plague outbreak in 1665, the Great Fire in 1666 and the Blitz during World War II. We will explore this area, stopping in at the Museum of London, and spend the day photographing this unique area of London.
London – Day 10 – Tuesday 9/2 – San Pancras, King’s Cross and Platform 9 3/4 and Museum of London
Today we will photograph around San Pancras station, completed in 1868 during the height of rail travel in Europe. With its red brick facade, San Pancras is one of the world’s most famous Gothic buildings. There is an underground walk way connecting to King’s Cross Railway Station. Perhaps we’ll find Platform 9 3/4 and catch Hogwart’s Express? This location is a fantastic place to practice both street photography and architectural photography. On our last night in London, we’ll say farewell to this great city with some pints at a local pub.
Paris – Day 11 – Wednesday 9/3 – Morning Trip to Paris, Eiffel Tower, and Optional Boat Tour
Today we catch the train to Paris! After checking in, we’ll take a late-afternoon walk around Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower. We have an early dinner and follow it up with orientation for the rest of Paris. Optional trip out to take a boat tour along the Seine to see the City of Lights at night.
Paris – Day 12 – Thursday 9/4 – Notre Dame, Île de la Cité
Another early day to catch sunrise photos – Notre Dame,Île de la Cité, and Île Saint Louis. We then visit La Maison Européenne de la Photographie for a behind-the-scenes visit of this amazing collection of photography. After lunch, we will use the inspiration from the photographic masters we saw earlier and head out to photograph around le Marais, one of the most unique and delicious neighborhoods in Paris. After dinner, we head to the Louvre to photograph the architecture, the gardens and the visitors (the museum is open late on Fridays). This is a great chance to practice all of the techniques we have been working on for the past 12 days.
Paris – Day 13 – Friday 9/5 – Pere la Chaise Cemetery, Edith Piaf, Le Marais and the Bridges of Paris
This morning we will continue our search for inspiration and history during a private tour at La Foundation de Henri Cartier Bresson. Then we travel to the Pere la Chaise Cemetery to explore this picturesque neo-gothic cemetery. We will then walk walking tour in the afternoon where we will explore the neighborhood around the cemetery, perhaps pop into the Edith Piaf museum, and make our way through Belleville, one of Paris’ most interesting neighborhoods. After dinner, Keith will lead a special evening photoshoot photographing the bridges of Paris at night. Optional day excursion available is a bike tour of Versailles.
Paris – Day 14 – Saturday 9/6 – Markets & Parks
Our time this morning will be spent exploring the famous Marché aux Puces (flea market) followed by escaping the crowds of the Marché to the Parc de la Villette to practice some urban landscape photography. Afternoon and evening are rest or free time. We are offering an optional night shoot around Monmartre.
Paris – Day 15 – Sunday 9/7 – The Gargoyles of Notre Dame and the Gardens of Paris
We get up for a sunrise walk in Parc Monceau, then climb to the top of Notre Dame to commune with the world’s most famous gargoyles. You will literally be inches from the gargoyles. This also happens to be the best location to photograph the rooftops of Paris. After a much needed snack after all that climbing, we will tour around the historical Latin Quarter with its beautiful cafes, churches, bookshops and book sellers along the Seine. We will end our trip by photographing in le Jardin du Luxembourg; Paris’s most famous and beautiful park. After our photoshoot, we celebrate our last day with dinner and stories.
Paris – Monday 9/8 – Fly Home
We say our farewell to two great cities and fly home with amazing memories and photographs. If travel arrangements permit, we will arrange for a morning meeting to share a few photos from the workshop.